A New Life
by Sitar-Hero
Summary: This is my response to Ragetti and Pintel not being in the new Pirates movie. What happened to them? Why not this? A series of short stories featuring Elizabeth and her son. Please review if you like it!
1. Happy Together

It was a small, round object. Many more like it were lying in wait as it was chosen for the maiden voyage. The selected object was hoisted up and brought to a tall cylindrical basin situated a short distance away. It seemed deep and the fluid inside was near impossible to see through, but the object would be manned by a person overhead, diligently maneuvering the fragile article. Then, slowly and smoothly, it began its descent into the opaque liquid below. The delicate object made soft ripples as it oscillated, almost completely submerged. The task was almost complete when the unthinkable happened. The lower segment of the object broke off and drifted to the bottom, unnoticed by the man in control. It was not until the now less rounded item reemerged that the loss was revealed.

"Oh dear… Me biscuit's broke…" Ragetti whined as he swirled his milk around, trying to locate the missing piece. He rubbed on his eye patch with his other hand and curled his lip downward into a mild frown, making him look just as a small child would in any similar circumstance. This was much to the amusement of Elizabeth as she watched the young man squint his pale blue eye at the milk, trying to see his half a morsel through the yellowed glass, stained with age and use. It was about time for a new set of glasses. It had been five or six years since these were brought to her by the lanky blond lad and his stocky bald companion. And still then, they'd already been through countless years of use, by the state they'd been in on arrival. They were clean enough, to be sure. Elizabeth made certain of that after every meal. It was just that she knew they _looked_ filthy. Everything looked filthy. Everything looked unpresentable. The closer the time came, the day she'd been awaiting for almost eight years now, the more she realized that she and her son and her… extended family… were living in, in…

…in _squalor_!

And it was no one's fault but her own. She was the woman of this household. She was the cook, with some occasional help from the two pirates, mostly the elder of the two. She was the nurse, treating nurturing every little bump and scrape and soothing every sickness that crept its way through the fellows' skin; men are babies when they're ill, she'd decided. It never failed to be so. And lastly, she was the maid. She had always taken pride in her cleanliness and now, as she looked around her humble little wooden hut, she felt ashamed. Not so much while she was alongside her current companions; they were pirates, after all, less than hygienic themselves. Instead, she felt ashamed as she realized that her surroundings would do nothing to impress her husband. His time away was drawing to a close and, although it would still be more than two years before his arrival, she dreaded what his expression might be when he returned to see such minimal progress made to the home…_ his_ home, even if only for a day.

"Mum? What are you staring at?"

Elizabeth shook her head suddenly as the voice brought her swiftly out of thought. She looked down and saw her little William standing with his fists on his hips, looking questioningly at his mother, his hazel eyes narrowed in his attempt to look serious.

"Nothing dear," she sighed, gently brushing a wavy brown lock away from the boy's beautiful face.

"You seem troubled, Poppet," another voice commented. Pintel was the next to catch the woman's attention. She looked over to the door way, or the curtain-way, as no one seemed to know how to install a door with a knob. There stood the hefty fellow who'd spoken. He walked into the house with a bundle of long leaves in his arm, still gazing at her as he set them down on the table. "You know he's been callin' to ya?"

"I'm sorry, love," Elizabeth said. She leaned forward and focused her complete concentration on her son.

"I want to go to the shore," little Will said as if it were the twentieth time he'd said it, which it very well could've been.

"Will, I have to make supper," Elizabeth said.

She stood up and walked over to inspect the leaves that Pintel had chosen. They were very nice. She placed them closer to the rest of the ingredients she'd gathered from the pantry, a large wooden crate in the corner. Every other month, when Pintel and Ragetti would sail their tiny boat to the nearest port to collect supplies, Elizabeth was never sure what she'd find in their stash. They brought food, of course, and different types of utensils and other household objects, usally past their prime. They brought clothing, always seeming to overestimate the young boy's size, but Will would always grow into it in a matter of months. They brought rum. That was a given. And they also brought toys and games for Will along with books for Elizabeth to read during her alone time. Whatever they brought on any given trip, however, was hardly ever the same as the last. And sometimes they even brought back some less than useful items. She was still trying to forget the chocolate covered berries they'd given to her. They never left the port with berries. They did, on the other hand, have a couple of live rabbits on board…

Will scowled and crossed his arms. It only took a little over fifteen minutes to walk to the shore. There was plenty of time to play by the water and be home for supper. He knew that his mother wouldn't let him off on his own, though. And Pintel was visibly exhausted from his leaf gathering expedition. This left only one option for the desperately bored child.

"What if Uncle Rags took me?"

This suggestion resulted in a simultaneous eruption of laughter from both his mother and his older "uncle."

"That's a good one, lad!" Pintel hooted. "If ya take that idiot along with ya, you'll be endin' up draggin' his sorry, cryin' behind back when he gets himself lost!"

Ragetti looked up from his losing battle with the glass of milk. The biscuit was most likely a soggy, unpalatable glob on the bottom of the glass by now, but finding it had become a matter of principle for the gawky lad. He'd drunk most of it in his efforts, but to no avail.

"Wot?" he sputtered, milk dripping from his sparse blond moustache into his equally fair beard.

"Well, that's not fair, Pint," Elizabeth said, barely stifling her own laughter.

"I knows the way to shore 'n back!" Ragetti said, sounding not a bit angry, but mildly hurt by the older man's comment.

"Yeah, he knows!" Will shouted, eager to convince his mother to allow the outing.

"It's alright with me," his mother said, smiling at both Ragetti and her son as they excitedly pulled on their tattered shoes. _Shoes_… Another thing they needed a new set of.

"Rags, I trust you know what time to be home for supper," Elizabeth added as the two gathered their ocean fun materials.

"Yes, 'Liz'beth, I know exactly what time!" Ragetti said, picking up a tin pail from off the shelf. Elizabeth couldn't stop smiling as she observed the display. Once her kidnapper, the gangly young man had become quite dear to her, as did his uncle and best mate, Pintel. It was clear that these two were much different from the other pirates she'd had the displeasure of meeting during her first visit on the Black Pearl. And although he was about six years her senior, there were times when she regarded him as a son more than a friend. He was a child at heart and she was happy to have him and Pintel with her where they would both feel loved and wanted.

Ragetti and Will finally had all of their effects ready and were out the door and off to their nautical adventure. Pintel lay on his cot facing the wall, hoping to get a few winks in before supper. Elizabeth was finally in a nice quiet home and she immediately took advantage of it. After setting the cooking fire outside, she prepared a bowl of hot water and began soaking the leaves Pintel had brought. While they soaked, she mashed up some plantains and salted meat and added a variety of different spices to it. She then removed the leaves and wrapped them around carefully shaped logs of the meaty mixture. Then she tied them up individually in some twine to keep the bundles intact. When the tiny packages were all assembled, she proceeded to take them outside drop them into a pot of boiling water that hung just above the fire. As she watched the meal cook, she took a piece of paper and a pen and began to scribble on it something she'd been thinking about all day…

* * *

><p>The fifteen minute walk took Ragetti and Will a grand total of six minutes and twelve seconds. When they reached the shore, they both collapsed in the sand and tried desperately to catch their breath. Between sprinting like they were trying to outrun a gazelle and laughing hysterically at a seemingly choreographed and amazingly acrobatic tumble Ragetti had taken when he got his ankle caught on a root, the two were lucky they hadn't suffocated.<p>

Will was the first to recover.

"Let's… let's catch some sharks!" he shouted, still gasping for air.

Ragetti, still sprawled out on the beach, nodded and pushed himself up, swallowing drily as he tried hard to get his breath back. He was not alarmed by the seemingly treacherous suggestion because he knew exactly what the young boy was referring to as "sharks." He picked up the pail and joined Will in hurrying to the water. There, they waded in to about knee height, mid-thigh height for the younger lad, and waited, stalking their prey.

"I see one," Ragetti whispered. "It's by your foot."

Seeing that the small silver fish was closer to him, Will reached out for Ragetti to hand him the pail and the giggling pirate did so. Shushing the older man, Will carefully lowered the pail over their prize, slowly inching closer and closer, and…

_SPLASH!_

"Did ya get it? Did ya get it?" Ragetti yelled.

Will snatched up the pail and peered inside.

"No," he said.

"Awwww…"

"I got _two_!"

"Wot? Lemme see!"

Will proudly showed off his catch and beamed up at his tall scruffy friend.

"C'mon, Uncle Rags!" the boy shouted. He started jogging up to the sand followed by an eager Ragetti.

The two knew exactly what to do next. They worked hard to scrape up a massive castle, complete with scallop shell ornamentation and a driftwood drawbridge. Then came the important part. The mote. They dug a disproportionately large ring around the structure and filled it to the top with the contents of the pail. Now with a castle and an invading army made up of wooden clothespins painted to look like soldiers, a rainy day activity that turned into a weeklong project hat even Elizabeth and Pintel got into, they were set for the next three hours. Then they'd make the long uphill trek back home. That is, if nothing were to sidetrack the pair...

* * *

><p>"Gee, Poppet, that smells great."<p>

Elizabeth had been so caught up in her little note that she hadn't heard the clomping footsteps come up behind her. Pintel looked over her shoulder and frowned inquisitively.

"What're you writing?" he asked.

"A list," she replied, a little startled. She took a second to glance into the pot and prod at one of the bundles with a wooden spoon. They were nearly ready.

"A list of what?" Pintel asked, clearly not satisfied with her vague response. He reached over to grab the paper, but Elizabeth shoved his husky arm away.

"No, no. I'm not finished with it. Don't worry, though. This list is meant for you so you'll see it soon enough."

This reassurance didn't have the desired effect on the pirate as this revelation only made him even more curious.

"Meant for me? What is it? Just tell me, Poppet!"

"It's a list of things I need," Elizabeth told him. She glanced up at him and the reaction she saw put a smirk on her face.

"A list of things you need? Well, don't Rags 'n me bring you everything you need?"

"Oh, Pint. Don't get me wrong, please. I really do appreciate everything you've brought… like that lovely statue you got last time… of a man… with an eagle's head… It's brilliant! Very exotic. But there are some things that are lacking in our home that I just_ cannot_ ignore any longer."

"Like what?"

"Like… new eating utensils. New cups and glasses. New furniture, even. I'm tired of sitting on wooden crates and eating off of a big plank of wood."

"…But ain't that what a table actually is?"

"Yes, but I want to eat off of a table that was designed and _built_ to be a table with the proper table-making tools! Not some makeshift wooden… monstrosity."

Pintel winced at that comment and, even without seeing this reaction, Elizabeth realized that that was probably not the ideal way to put it. The table had been a gift, a labor of love that that the two pirates had worked almost an entire day to produce, and they'd presented it to her on her third wedding anniversary. She covered her mouth and looked up at Pintel.

"I'm so sorry… Oh, god, I'm so sorry. I'm just… I need everything to look right."

"What do you mean?"

"For William."

"William? But he's not coming for…" Pintel counted on his pudgy fingers. "…two and a half years or sommat."

"I know… But it will have been ten years. Ten years, and this is all I've got to show for it."

Elizabeth gestured to the humble little wooden shack beside them. As they both looked at it, a gull landed on the roof. As it departed, a big chunk of thatch slid down and hit the ground with a miniature explosion of dry bristles.

"I see…"

"So… this is what I need… to start with. And I'll keep the table. I don't know what came over me."

"We'll do our best, love."

Pintel read over the list and saw that most of the items were actually pretty obtainable. And everything else was at least plausible. New leather shoes, shiny new cutlery, nice new furniture, door and instructions on how to mount it, wooden shingles… this item was added post-gull…

* * *

><p>It was two hours into their game when Ragetti decided that they should let the little fish out of the mote. The last time they'd played this game, they'd forgotten to keep refilling the mote after the sand absorbed the water and one of the tiny creatures died. Ragetti, being the animal-lover he was, felt guilty for days. When Ragetti picked up the pail to gather the fish in, Will hopped up and grabbed it away from him.<p>

"Let's see if they can find their own way back!" the boy shouted.

"How d'ya mean?" Ragetti asked.

Will bent down and scooped away a long trail of sand leading away from the mote. Some of the water followed the path and so did one of the fish. He kept moving along backward, watching as the fish followed him every step, or swish, in the fish's case, of the way. Ragetti grinned and he, too, bent down and started on his own fish. Naturally, this became a race and the two were neck and neck until they finally reached the water. The tide was coming in and the surge of water that came from behind them favored Ragetti's fish, as his side was swept away a few seconds before Will's.

"No fair!" Will shouted.

"No, guess it ain't…" Ragetti said, looking out to see the two fish swim away into the sea. "…Still won, though!"

"What? No!" Will shrieked as he sloshed toward Ragetti. Ragetti, being only shin deep in the water, wasn't nearly as inhibited by the shallows as the child and he got himself a good running start. By the time Will was out of the water, His older comrade was giddily scampering across the sand.

The sun was beginning to set and the long shadows cast by the two cavorting pals were beginning to fade into the darkness around them. Ragetti was taking a time out beside the collection of their belongings when he finally noticed.

"We should be getting back now, huh?" he asked looking up at the sky. "Supper's pro'ly ready."

"Yeah, okay," Will mumbled, reluctantly.

The pair gathered up their things and started trudging wearily back home. There would be no race this time.

"Wot ya s'pose she's makin'?" Ragetti asked as they made their way uphill.

"Dunno. Something good, I hope. I'm starving!"

"I want somethin' hot."

"It'll probably be hot. Why else would she need so much time to make it?"

Ragetti smiled and licked his lips. Elizabeth was the best cook he knew. He didn't really know too many of them, but he had a feeling she was one of the best anyway. He just couldn't imagine a tastier meal than Elizabeth's chicken soup. The very thought of it made his stomach feel decidedly empty. Whatever it was that she was cooking, it was going to be magnificent.

Ragetti kept on walking and pondering what his delectable meal might be. In doing this, however, he didn't seem to notice that the tapping of the small boy's feet had ceased. It wasn't until he heard a loud rustling sound that he spun around and saw the lad halfway up a tall tree.

"Will!" The gangling fellow hurried toward the child and anxiously watched as he scaled the branches, littering the ground with leaves as they spiralled down to the ground.

"Uncle Rags! Come on!" Will shouted, gesturing for the pirate to follow.

"Why ya climbin' up there for?" Ragetti whined, circling the trunk, trying to get a better view of the boy. "I thought we was goin' home!"

"We are! Just c'mon first! It won't take that long. This is the only time I can climb this tree 'cuz Mum never lets me!"

"Well, if your Mum doesn't want ya to..."

"Uncle Rags!' Will demanded.

Ragetti flinched. He really didn't want to disappoint the young lad. He was always as submissive to the boy as he was to everyone else around him, making him more of an equal to Will than a proper guardian. The older man felt a subtle tug at his conscience, but he obeyed. Before climbing up the first tree limb, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his pocket watch. They had ten minuts to get home...

"Alright."

He began his ascent. Ragetti's curious nature had, soon enough, gotten the best of him and before long he'd forgotten about the time completely. This really was the tallest tree he'd seen on the island, and he'd seen a good portion of it. With the tree situated on midway up the hill, the two were bound to see the entire island and then some from high up in its branches.

"It's a long way up!" Will shouted from up ahead.

"Cor, it is!" Ragetti replied, stretching his long limbs and gaining on the boy.

They both reached the top at almost the same time and gazed at their moonlit surroundings. It was breathtaking. Everything, even the island that Ragetti had once gotten lost for hours on, seemed so small. It took a very long time to climb up so high and Ragetti was now beginning to get a heavy sinking feeling in his stomach as he thought of what Elizabeth might say when they arrived home so late. As much as the small child inside of him urged him to stay and swing on the branches for just a while longer, he decided that they shouldn't risk making Elizabeth worry any more. Who knew what she was thinking now?

"Will, I really think we should be goin' home now," Ragetti said, making a move to start his descent.

"No! I just got up here! Ten more minutes!"

"But Will... Your mum..."

"Later, Rags. Let's pretend we're spies! Look! There come the enemies now!"

"Wot?"

It was true. Glancing to where Will was squinting through his curled fingers like a looking glass, Ragetti saw the glow of a lantern hovering along in the darkness. When he slowly realized the only possibility for who was carrying the light, he panicked.

"Will, we can't let them see you up here! 'Liz'beth will murder me!" he whispered frantically.

"No she won't," Will said, but began to climb down anyway, wary of his own impending punishment, would his mother catch him.

"Faster, faster!" Ragetti wimpered as Elizabeth and Pintel drew closer. It was definitely them. He knew it must've been them, but now that the light revealed their faces more clearly, he became frightfully aware that they were not happy. Supper most likely had gotten cold while they were playfully monkeying about in the tree, and he'd assured Elizabeth that they'd be home before then. It was all he could do not to break down at the thought of losing Elizabeth's trust, the trust he'd only just figured out he had this afternoon. This was the first time he was asked to take the boy with him and be in charge and now it would probably the last. He gave one last whimper before dropping the last few feet to the earth. Will swung down next to him, still giggling at the fun he was having. But before they could distance themselves from the scene of the crime, the light of the lantern was now in Ragetti's face, glaring accusingly into his eye.

"What in the world were you two doing?" Elizabeth asked, stepping past Pintel and almost knocking the lamp out of his hand.

"Nothing. We were walking home from the beach, right Uncle Rags?" Will said, glancing at Ragetti with a warning look.

"...Err, I... Yeah, we... walkin' home... just now," The shaking pirate managed to stutter.

Elizabeth could smell the lie. Ragetti hadn't looked into her face since she'd first opened her mouth. She hadn't seen them hop out of the tree, but she knew what happened and she was surprised that the usually honest man was trying to hide it from her.

"Ragetti?" she said.

"Yes?"

"You wouldn't lie to me, would you?"

"N-n-no."

"I didn't think so. Very well, let's go home."

Will gave a silent sigh of relief and an approving nod to Ragetti. The older man winced and hung his head, feeling aweful for what he was doing. Just as they were all getting ready to leave, Elizabeth turned around and smirked.

"And don't forget your sash, Rags," she added.

Ragetti looked down and gasped when he saw that his red sash was missing. He looked all over the ground for it until Elizabeth pointed to tree. There, in the lower branches, it hung draping a few feet over the grass. Will and Ragetti froze, wide-eyed and glanced at each other. The jig was up...

* * *

><p>"Haven't I washed enough dishes?"<p>

"Rags, you mind the Poppet," Pintel reminded his tired sweaty nephew.

"He made me do it..."

"Did not!"

"Ya did so!"

Will tossed one of the wet rags he was using to scrub the table at Ragetti's face, giving rise to a barrage of retaliation splashes from the wash basin.

"You ever gonna let those lot out on there own again, Poppet?" Pintel asked, rolling his eyes.

"Maybe," Elizabeth said, turning a page in her latest book, _The Wonders of the Horseshoe Crab_; Pintel and Ragetti weren't very selective in the books they brought home to her.

"Really?"

"Well, I think they've learned their lesson."

"_POPPET! Will snapped me eyepatch in me face!"_

"Shut it, ya lummox!" Pintel growled at his nephew.

"Will, you get back to work!" Elizabeth hollered at her son.

The morning's chores were going by anything but smoothly, but they were getting done none the less. And when the day was through once again, the two troublemakers were in bed before the first stars had a chance to show themselves. Pintel finished off his after-supper rum and was soon fast asleep as well. Elizabeth extinguished the lamps and lay down in her sectioned off room, separated by curtains. She finished her book and set it down next to _Choosing a Winning Mule _and _A Study in Tarring a Boat_. Drifting to sleep to the sound of the rain hitting the thatch roof above, she felt happy, satisfied with her new life. A sudden pat of a raindrop hitting her square on the nose jolted her out of this pleasant thought, however.

"_Shingles._"

Perhaps she would have to rearrange the order of her list...


	2. A Treasure Hunt

His head was full of dust.

Really, having no use for any mental faculties at all, this suited him just fine. As he lay in on the cot, a soft, whiny breath gently fluttered over his face, lightly moving the fuzz below his tiny nose. It had gone on like this for the entire night, and many a night before it. The wheezing inhales followed closely by the whimpering exhales. All the while the dust would swirl around, the microscopic specks forming an almost invisible haze around his dark head. No wonder the breaths wheezed so. But they were not his own. Beside him lay a young man, considerably taller than he, but not nearly as old. The lad gripped him protectively, but the way in which this young fellow buried his face, moist with the sweat of another horrible dream, into his tiny body suggested that he felt more protected by the small form than he felt protective of it. The younger face contorted as the lad wrestled with the performance playing out in his head, an act in which he apparently played a decidedly objectionable part in. His murmuring breaths were becoming more and more like those of an infant, high pitched and on the verge of becoming shrill wails of discomfort. The small form didn't budge at this, however. It made no motion to soothe the young man, or even wake him so as to end the pitiful display. It did nothing, much as any stuffed animal would.

As his face took on a mildly pleading expression, Ragetti was finally jolted awake; his nightmare reached its unbearable climax. He sighed as he slowly realized that all of his anxieties had simply been another one of his night terrors. The darkness around him made this realization slightly less comforting than usual, though. He grasped his lifeless pet in his arms and began groping in the blackness for his uncle's cot. A soft breeze made its way through the window, sneaking past the closed curtains and enveloping the young man. The small gust felt especially cool against his soaked body, a dampness he hoped was solely perspiration. There had been a few particularly ghastly nightmares that had left him drenched in far less innocent ways…

Ragetti's shin found Pintel's cot before his flailing arm did. This earned a yelp and a lumbering topple from the gangly lad. He was awkward enough on his feet as it was without the darkness impeding his already limited vision. He dropped his antique cloth companion as he twisted in a rather unnatural fashion to avoid falling flat on his scrawny bum. He managed to catch himself by landing most of his weight on the rear of his right ankle, leaving him squatting close to the warped wooden floor on his toes. The scattered grains of sand felt rough on his feet as they rubbed against them in his graceless ascent from this position. Elizabeth must've forgotten to sweep earlier that day… or the day before, it seemed, as a faint orange glow began to seep through the pale red cloths hanging from the window.

"Mornin' already?" Ragetti whispered. Being the first words he'd uttered in a number of hours, this comment came out quite raspy and the bony youth cleared his throat in an attempt to make his voice sound more awake. This slowly spreading tinge of sunlight was a relief to him. Still, he focused his attention back to Pintel's small, makeshift bed. The daytime was when Ragetti was at ease. This had been so ever since he'd first had a glimpse of himself in the moonlight that horrid night so many years ago. But it was still going to be a while before the darkness was washed away completely and he needed to know he was safe in the ever threatening shadow. He wouldn't even have to wake his slumbering uncle to gain this reassurance. Just to know he was there would suffice. The lanky young man carefully reached out to the cot, his eye still not quite adjusted what little light filled the room. He felt about a foot above the bed, taking into consideration Pintel's sizable belly. He was startled by what he felt however, and drew his hand back. He felt… nothing.

Ragetti leaned forward again and, with both hands, he felt over the bed. Probing about the blanket, he was dumbfounded at its emptiness. Now crawling on his hands and knees across the thin, lumpy mattress, he finally came to the obvious conclusion that his uncle was not there.

"P-p-…"

The lad was too frightened to speak out loud. He brought his knees to his chest as he waited in silence, and with his eye as wide as a platter, for the rest of the sunlight to melt away the nonexistent evil that the dark was concealing. Only then would he begin his search for Pintel. He reached down slowly and fumbled about for his stuffed doll. It was a dog, he thought, although the tail had been ripped away from its body long before Pintel had found it in the market on one of their trips to port. The lack of the vital canine atribut sort of made the raggedy animal look more like a rabbit, with its big, floppy ears and all. It was originally meant for young Will, but Ragetti took such a fancy to the thing that Pintel decided not to separate him from it. Presently, it was missing its right eye. Pintel had torn it off in a heated dispute with his sometimes scatterbrained nephew. "Like father, like son," he said as he hurled the toy at Ragetti's face. Needless to say, this was immediately followed by a deluge of repentance and the rare privilege of sampling one of the coveted coconut pastries Pintel was so stingy with. Never again has he had that opportunity.

As the light shone in at an increasingly rapid pace, Ragetti felt much more comfortable and he had long since had his vision back. He carried his ragged old friend to his own bed and tucked it away underneath his pillow. No sense leaving it out in the open and being mocked by all who thought he was much too old for such a thing… which happened to be everyone. He picked up his eye patch from the table beside the cot and put it on, wriggling it in place with the heel of his hand.

Creeping slowly to Elizabeth's section of the wooden shack, Ragetti felt that he would find the exact same scenario there. And he did. It was much too quiet, eerily so, for there to be anyone in the house. He continued on to little Will's bed, despite this, hoping to be proven wrong in his assumption. Will was gone, too!

"H-hello?" Ragetti finally spoke in his own loud voice, no longer stifled by his uneasiness. No one answered. He decided to take a peek outside. At this time, the poppet would already be preparing breakfast for everyone. Where could she have gone?

Calling her name, the wobbling lad ventured around the house, still tired from his premature awakening. He stopped as he nearly came full circle, though. There was not all that much in way of decoration occupying their "yard," so any foreign object laying in the grass was sure to be noticed. And the rum bottle with a rolled up piece of parchment inside was no exception.

"Oi," Ragetti's childlike curiosity was instantly engaged and the young pirate hurried to liberate the small paper from its glass entrapment. A note in a bottle! He never knew people actually did this. The fact that he'd only just begun his reading lessons with Elizabeth and Will didn't even cross his mind as he uncorked the container. This was much too exciting for rationality. Why, it could've been hundreds of years old, for all he knew. Or it could even be from someone as famous as Blackbeard or Calico Jack! Hey, it could happen…

His tongue wiggled about in the corner of his mouth as the lad tried to reach the yellowed page with his spindly index finger. After a minute or so, he was successful and he pulled out his prize. He unrolled it was doubly excited at what was printed. No amount of literacy was needed to decipher this message, as it was a map! A treasure map, at that, seeing as it had an unmistakable mark of a chest blotted within the image of the island. It was just what he and his uncle had always dreamed of! A treasure that was all their own. Nothing to share with a crew of fifty-sommat men. It was all theirs… and Will's and the poppet's too, of course.

"Gold, gold, gold…" Ragetti giggled to himself as he hurried into the house to grab a spade. His worry over the missing members of his family had all but disintegrated as the gawky fellow pranced about giddily, following the trail marked on the crinkled paper as it lead him west, past the wooden hut… which had been somehow included on the map. Failing to notice this sign that the map had been produced within the last seven or eight years as opposed to centuries ago, as the aged look of the paper suggested, Ragetti gleefully marched ahead with his spade on his shoulder. Also being overlooked by the spirited young man was the oddness of a supposedly drifting bottle being washed up about a mile inland…

About five minutes into his expedition, Ragetti noticed a tiny square marked on the map that seemed to be located right where he was standing. Coming to the conclusion that this square was there for a reason, he stopped and looked around for something out of the ordinary. He found no such thing. Scratching his head, he decided to leave this small square alone for now and come back to it later. He was bent on finding that treasure. When he lifted his foot to keep on trudging, however, he heard a faint squeak come from below him. He looked down and saw that the ground he stood on was covered in a patch of dirt. He bounced up and down and the squeaking continued. There was definitely something there.

"More treasure," Ragetti guessed to himself as he placed the map carefully on the ground and began digging up the suspicious mound. It didn't take long before he hit something. That something turned out to be a wooden crate, much like the ones Elizabeth used to store things in the house. So much like these crates, in fact, that if he hadn't been directed to it by an ancient treasure map, he would have bet his last shilling that it was the one that sat on one of the shelves and held all of their utensils. It even had the same writing on the side. U-T-E-N… But clearly, this was an ancient pirate's treasure.

When the box emerged, Ragetti anxiously dug his fingers under the lid and ripped it open. Inside was another piece of paper… and a spoon. The paper was the more intriguing of the two items, so Ragetti picked it up and looked it over. It was a diagram of some kind. It showed a tall thin man wearing an eye patch standing with a spoon in his hand. Next to it, with an arrow pointing from the first picture to the second, were the same man and the same spoon standing with a treasure chest. Ragetti looked down at the spoon and back at the paper. He studied both for a long while until he discovered that the spoon was probably going to be important when he'd finally reached the treasure. That's what this strangely specific ancient drawing was telling him, anyway. He picked up the spoon and put it in his pocket.

Later on in his quest, Ragetti came across another little area of interest. A small, fenced off area filled with… rabbits? Well, this area was on the ancient chart, so it had to have always been there, although he'd never been aware of it before. Watching the bunnies playfully hop and skip about made the gangling pirate laugh in his usual goofy way. He loved animals and bunnies were among his favorite. He stepped over the short fence and sat down with his new lop-eared friends. It didn't take too long to notice, though, that one of the rabbits was different. It was wearing a collar. And tucked carefully into the collar was another piece of parchment.

"Another note!" Ragetti excitedly shouted as he hopped up and started toward the singled-out bunny. Catching this rabbit would be some feat, however. Several minutes of clumsily tripping over himself and the other rabbits had Ragetti sprawled on the grassy earth, gasping for breath.

"I- I just… wants the… note…, bunny rabbit!" he panted. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the rabbit on the run plopped itself in front of the small watering trough alongside the fence. This was his chance! He scrambled to his knees and readied himself to pounce, wiggling his bum in preparation. Then came his less than elegant leap. All the rabbits scattered, save for one. He quickly retrieved the paper from the collar and let the little bunny go free. He unfolded the note and sat back to look it over. It was another illustration. This time, of the man from before holding a plate and grinning widely.

"I dun' get it…" Ragetti whined. He stood up and stepped out of the small rabbit farm. He gathered up his map and spade and started again on his mission.

Soon enough, a third item on the map stopped Ragetti in his tracks. It wasn't too difficult to see what this mark represented, though. There was simply a piece of paper held in place by a rock sitting right there on the ground.

"Hmm… These ancient pirates must've run out of clever idears."

Ragetti picked up the paper and looked at it. This particular paper didn't seem quite as aged as the others he'd found. In fact, he thought the back of this paper looked surprisingly similar to the first page of _Know Your South American Fungi_, a book Elizabeth had just finished reading to him and Will as a bedtime story. The mushrooms drawn on the page sort of gave him that idea…

But the ancient pirates who fabricated this map had led him to this piece of paper, so it had to be ancient as well. Obviously, this book had been being transcribed for longer than he'd thought. Anyway, it was what was drawn on the other side of the paper that Ragetti dwelled on. It was the same familiar man, but this time he was with three others. A woman with long hair tied back, a short, fat man who was bald and had a thick, curly beard, and a child with somewhat long hair and a big grin on his face.

"If I didn't know this paper 'ad been under this 'ere rock for centuries…" Ragetti began to mumble to himself as he scanned over the peculiarly familiar scene in the picture. He glanced down at the map and saw that he only had a short way to go the reach the treasure. He shook off the bizarre feelings he had and continued onward to his goal, humming to himself an old sea shanty and pondering what fine things he and Pintel would spend their newfound riches on. Perhaps they would finally get a leg up on Poppet's list…

He was coming up on the shoreline when he realized that he was finally at his destination. There was, however, no clear-cut sign this time to show him where to look. So he dug. He dug precisely where the treasure had been marked on the map and he kept on digging, even when nothing emerged two, four, six feet below…

The spade hit the dirt once more and remained there as Ragetti tiredly wiped his brow and slumped in his deep, narrow hole. All of those sub-treasures were real enough. Why wasn't this one here? He felt utterly disappointed. As his thoughts settled and the excitement of finding his own buried treasure dwindled into nothing, the defeated young pirate slowly began to recall the occurrence that had troubled him so much that morning. Pintel and the poppet and the little boy were gone. Maybe something had happened to them. Maybe they were kidnapped. But who would ever do that? And why wouldn't they have taken him as well? It couldn't have been that… The thoughts swirled around in his head like bees around a honey jar. The distress was oozing back into his mind and he covered his face with his hands. He wanted more than anything now, more than treasure and ancient pirate sea charts, to find his family. His uncle and his self-proclaimed sister and nephew. They were all he had and he didn't know what he would do without them. He removed his hands from his face and looked up. But it was still dark. On top of all this tragedy, had he gone blind as well?

Just then, two rough hands gripped him under his arms from behind and hoisted him up out of the ditch. He screamed and thrashed about, trying desperately to free himself from this stranger's grasp. When the mysterious figure would not let go, Ragetti, still unable to see at the moment, instinctively bent his neck forward and gave his attacker's hand a strong, clamping bite.

"Wot in bl-… Oi, 'e BIT me! I'll murder yeh, ya li'l git!" came a gravely and outright livid voice. But instead of inciting fear into the youngster, the voice was the sweetest, most welcomed sound he could have ever hoped to hear at that very moment.

"PINTERS!" Ragetti shrieked as he clawed at the air toward the sound of Pintel's colorful mumblings. He was still blinded as he did this, so another figure stepped in and removed the piece of burlap that had been shoved over his head.

"Poppet! And Will! Yeh're all here! I thought ya mighta' been gone forever…"

"Gone forever?" Elizabeth chuckled. "No, Rags. We're right here. You found us!"

"I did?... I was looking for a treasure, though. Ya see, there was this ancient pirate map wot washed up by our house…"

"Ancient pirate map?" This earned a scoff from Pintel. He rolled his eyes at his gullible nephew and shook his head. "That weren't no ancient map, Rags. That were a coffee stained page outta lli'l Will's drawing book."

"…But… so… what about this?" Ragetti pulled out the spoon and held it up for Pintel to see.

"That's wot yeh're gonna use for eatin', lad."

"Eatin' wot?" It was all becoming very clear to him. How daft he had been! Ragetti thought back to the drawing of the eye patched fellow holding a plate. He knew now that this fellow must've been him, but he didn't know why he merited such a surprise. A surprise meal, at that! It wasn't a birthday party, for even _he_ didn't know what day he was born. He wasn't getting married, near as he could figure. What _was _all this?

"Don't you remember, Rags?" Will asked. "We celebrate it every year!"

"…Poppet's anniversary."

"Nope."

"…Pintel's springtime rash?"

"NO!"

"I wouldn't say that's something we _celebrate_…"

"...Err… I give up!"

"It was seven years ago today that you and your uncle came to stay with us!"

"Oh, yeah!"

"Oh, boy…"

"So, wot're we eatin' Liz'beth?"

"Pintel's and your favorite homemade pudding!"

This garnered an enthusiastic cheer from both pirates. Even Pintel was letting his harsh, irate front down as his foolish excitement for the delicious treat was as clear on his face as the early afternoon sky.

Everyone enjoyed the seaside picnic as they sang songs, lit a bonfire, gorged themselves on pudding and biscuits, and showed their loving appreciation for what this occasion was all about… their family. How true it was that a treasure could be found at the end of that map.

The night crept up on them like a thief in… well, in the night. And now, each member of the bunch had had their fill and was ready for a much needed rest. Daunted by the prospect of having to walk all the way back to their home, however, the two that hadn't fallen asleep on the beach decided that their weary charges had the right idea. Elizabeth bent down and gave her sleeping son a tender kiss on the cheek, followed by the same gesture for a dozing Ragetti who lay head to head with the boy. Ragetti's nose twitched and he let out a muffled sigh as he nestled his head further into the sand in reaction to the affectionate contact. Pintel exhaustedly gave a little smile at this display and reached over to give his nephew his own, less feminine, demonstration of fondness. He tousled the lanky lad's scruffy blonde mop and tucked a small, stringy lock away from his eye. He lay down beside to the youngster and instinctively pulled him a little closer to his stocky frame, protectively listening for any disturbance in the boy's breathing as his eyes were shut now, worn out from such an active day. This parental exhibition went on for as long as Pintel could stay awake. But just before he had completely drifted off into his slumber, a soft, warm peck patted his forehead. By the time he'd pried his eyes open to determine the source of this sensation, it was over. But he knew what it was. And who it was.

"Goodnight, Poppet," he whispered. "Love yeh too…"


	3. Wind  Part 1

The morning was an especially breezy one. Palm trees swayed to a silent air as their fronds seemed to greet the new day with a welcoming gesture. The garments that were draped along the clothes line outside the shack fluttered delicately against Elizabeth's face as she hurried to collect each piece before one should try to make a wind-guided escape. As the gusts traveled downhill of their home, they brushed over Ragetti's soft, blonde locks. The slender young pirate wasn't very much accustomed to having such a supple head of hair, but Elizabeth's request that he and his uncle have a proper bath before they celebrated her and William's anniversary actually left him feeling rather relieved. Who knew how much lighter and refreshed one felt once many months of dirt and grime were finally removed? Ragetti gave a cheerful giggle as his feathery bangs swept freely over the bridge of his nose and tickled him, no longer weighed down by filthy grease. He sat cross-legged in the tall grass, the large, open sea of green churning peacefully around him, as he carefully selected only the most beautiful and vibrant flowers to present to Elizabeth. 'Pretty poppies for the pretty Poppet…' Parting from the newly cleansed flaxen strands, the gentle draft followed its course toward the shore where all manner of winged creature were gliding above the waves, happy to receive a helpful boost from the wind. The gulls were circling the surface of the water, hoping to catch a few morsels. A handful of parakeets hovered above the trees as they scanned their surroundings for a good assortment of fruits and nuts. And a large orange dog with a red face and tail sailed effortlessly through the air, casting a rather impressive shadow on the white sand below. All was just as normal that morning as any other.

"I did it! Look at how high it is, Uncle Pintel!" shouted little Will. His latest toy had become the object of his complete focus for the past few days. On Pintel and Ragetti's last trip to gather supplies, they'd stumbled upon a fine Chinese kite for a remarkable bargain at one of the shops.

"Aye, lad! Ye've got it! Hold on tight, now," Pintel yelled after the boy as he bent forward and stood panting in the wet sand, taking a much needed break from his vain effort at keeping pace with him.

The fiery-colored canine swooped left and right and up and down as it tailed the young boy below. Its regal expression, still clearly seen even from its present distance, made quite a majestic sight. Elizabeth smiled proudly when she caught sight of it from atop the hill. Her son had been trying to get that kite in the air day and night since he'd gotten it.

"'Ello, Doggy! Yeh finally got yer paws off the ground, eh?" Ragetti called from his spot on the hillside. He laughed and waved up at the airborne pup, much to Will's amusement.

"Pintel! Pintel, come here!" Will hollered after a while. "You hold it now. My arms are tired."

"Alright. Give it 'ere, lad." Pintel took the spool from the boy's hands and began to draw the kite in. "Gettin' stronger, ain't it?"

"Yeah. It's real windy now," Will said, plopping himself on the cool, wet beach.

"Here. 'S not so high now. It should be a lot easier fer you." The old pirate handed the kite back to the child and started to make his way from the shore.

"What? Where are you going?"

"I told ya, I've gotta 'elp yer mum prepare supper. Rags is right over there if ye need 'im."

Will nodded and lay back in the sand, watching his new flying pet drift elegantly over his head. Smiling weakly, Pintel turned again and tiredly plodded his way uphill toward the house. He dragged his feet along, hoping that Elizabeth would allow him a few moments' rest before assigning him to one the many coming household chores. Halfway into his dreary ascent, however, he was stopped by the strident cry of his evidently disturbed nephew.

"Wot's the matta'?" Pintel sighed, trying to appear concerned, but lacking the sufficient energy.

"Ye've crushed the biggest one!" Ragetti complained.

When Pintel moved his foot he saw that it was true. He'd smashed a large, bright purple flower under his big, clunky shoe.

"…'M sorry, Rags. But ye've got quite a collection there already! Elizabeth'll be very happy."

"Yeh thinks so?" the younger man asked, rearranging the colorful bunch in his grasp. Ragetti certainly wasn't an expert florist, but he knew a handsome blossom when he saw one and he'd gathered up a very nice variety.

"O' course. Now be a chum an' watch the boy while I 'elp the Poppet."

"Aye."

Ragetti continued to fiddle with the bouquet as he made his trek toward young Will. Elizabeth was going to be quite pleased with this assortment! Now there was just the matter of finding a suitable wrapping. He didn't have any ribbon or fancy lace to speak of, but he was sure he'd come up with something.

"Whoops…" The spindly young pirate tightened his grip as the wind began to pick up from behind him and one of the flowers escaped from the group. "You all 'ad best stay put. Ye're a present fer 'Liz'beth."

* * *

><p>"Pintel! There you are. Please gather up the rest of the clothes. I need to check the rice."<p>

Elizabeth swiftly relieved herself of the heavy pile of laundry in her arms, unloading it onto a poor, unsuspecting Pintel. Before the dreadfully exhausted man could protest, she was off tending to her cooking pot. With a sigh, the hefty old fellow lugged the newly dried load into the house and returned to assemble the rest. As he plucked the pieces off the line, another heavy gust came, seeming to want to help the man with his chore as it freed a rather delicate and frilly article, sending it sailing straight into his face with a loud 'fwap.'

Pintel peeled the feminine garment away from his reddening scowl and shoved it deep into his hoard, praying that no one saw. When he'd completed his clothing harvest, he met up with Elizabeth to see if there was anything else she needed.

"It sure is blustery. You don't think it'll be a storm, do you?" Elizabeth asked, stirring a pot of broth and dropping various fine ingredients into the aromatic liquid.

"I hope not. That'd dampen the celebration, wouldn't it?"

"Mmmm… Yes it would. We'd better finish the meal quickly, just in case. Fetch me the avocado, please."

"Yeh want I should go down an' scoop up Rags? Two an' a half heads are betta' than two."

"Well, now… That's… That's not nice at all!" Elizabeth spat out through her laughter. "Yes, go and fetch him. I can use all the help I can get. And bring Will, as well."

"Aye, Poppet."

* * *

><p>"Faster, Uncle Rags! Make it go higher!"<p>

"It won' go no higher!"

Will ran beside Ragetti, watching his large, vibrant dog rise up higher than it had been before. This was due not to the older fellow's speed, however. The wind was raging stronger now and threatening to yank the frail man forward onto his face. He was running now to keep this from happening. All the while, he kept his bouquet safely clutched in his hand. Finally he skidded to a halt and pulled back on the string of the kite as hard as he could.

"What's that for?" Will demanded. "Why're you bringing it in?"

"I thinks the kite's 'ad enough fer today, Will… I don' think I can-"

Ragetti was cut off by the kite's violent release from his hands as it lost its stability in the air and began to spiral down toward the earth… or, more closely, the sea.

"Now you've done it, Rags! It was going just fine up there! Go get it before it gets swept away! That's an order from the Pirate Prince!"

"R-r-right, Will. I'm sorry." Ragetti hurried into the water and waded out toward the downed kite. He tucked his flowers into the back of his breeches to keep them dry and his hands free to collect the fallen toy. He hadn't noticed it until now, but the sky was looking quite a bit darker. Strange, as it certainly couldn't be too far past noon. At any rate, another peculiarity had emerged; the water was rising incredibly fast. Ragetti quickly removed his bouquet from his trousers and held them up over his head as he neared his goal.

"Ahh… Hullo, Doggy!" He grabbed hold of the kite and smiled triumphantly. Now to make his way back… But before he turned his head he heard the very faint sound of young Will calling to him. He was very puzzled at how distant the voice sounded. When he finally spun around in the water to have a look, he nearly swallowed a mouthful of salty brine. How long had he been treading out? He must've been at least twenty meters away from the shore. Panic set in when he realized that with every moment, he was being drawn even further out, as he couldn't even feel the sand beneath his feet anymore. Desperately, he tried to paddle his way back, but the waves were much too strong. Now he was being pummeled by them instead of rising with them as he had been before. Each break hit harder than the last, pounding him deeper below the surface, and soon he could no longer breath. The terrified young pirate couldn't understand why he was unable to bring his head above water. He frantically swished about below the waves in a hopeless attempt to reemerge over the surface. What he hadn't realized, however, was that the string of the kite was wrapped around his ankle and the kite itself was acting as an underwater sail, pulling him out with the current much quicker than he should have been.

"_Uncle Rags!_" Will screamed. Thunder clapped above, seeming to beckon the brunt of the gale, for with that, the waves intensified along with the wind and before long, the bony man's scruffy blonde mop had completely disappeared. "_Ragetti!"_

Through the heavy downpour and furious wind and the anxious boy's own tears, the entire scene was becoming a blur. The storm had crept up on the pair and Ragetti was in the worst possible position for its arrival. It had all happened so fast, feeling like only minutes. Now there was water spraying farther inland than young Will had ever been so close to see. He backed away with every crashing wave, nearing the end of the sandy beach, but still being grazed by the ocean's upward climb. And this was just the beginning…

_**To be continued…**_


End file.
